Dengue may rise in Florida if rival mosquitoes don’t mate

Florida dengue cases may rise in the near future due to female yellow fever mosquitoes becoming savvy about their false-flag suitors, leading to increased yellow fever mosquito populations.

When male Asian tiger mosquitoes successfully deceive yellow fever females, their matings are fruitless – the two species can’t produce offspring together, Instead, chemicals transferred during mating render the yellow fever female sterile for the rest of her short life.

Resurgent populations of yellow fever mosquitoes could lead to more dengue cases, said Phil Lounibos, a distinguished professor of entomology with UF’s Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach, so one of his objectives for the near future is to investigate some of the areas where yellow fever mosquitoes are said to be making a comeback.